414 



GEOGRAPHICAL PROGRESS AND DISCOVERY. 



whale were found on the beach. These at 

 first were supposed to be the remains of whales 

 that had been killed by the natives or by Amer- 

 ican whalers, but on examination it was found 

 that they must be sub-fossil. This was con- 

 firmed by the natives, who stated that no 

 whale had driven on land in the memory of 

 man. The remains were found to belong to 

 four or five different species, of which Balmna 

 mysticetus, or a nearly allied type, was the 

 most common. 



Along the coast, from the White Sea to 

 Behring Strait, no glacier was seen. During 

 autumn the Siberian coast is nearly free of ice 

 and snow. "With one exception there were no 

 rocks along the coast precipitous enough to be 

 suitable breeding - places for sea-fowl, but a 

 large number of these birds were seen during 

 spring flying farther to the north. A warm 

 current, as in Europe, was found to flow along 

 the northwestern coast, and to create there a 

 far milder climate than that which prevails on 

 the Asiatic side. The limit of trees, therefore, 

 lies a good way to the north of Behring Strait, 

 while the whole of the Tchuktch Peninsula 

 appears to be devoid of trees. 



For the use of future Arctic expeditions Pro- 

 fessor Nordenskjold gives the following de- 

 scription of those parts of their winter equip- 

 ment whieh were found to be most serviceable : 

 According to the meteorological observations, 

 the winter was not particularly cold when 

 compared with the winters experienced in the 

 Franklin Archipelago and in the coldest re- 

 gions of Siberia. On the other hand, the Ve- 

 ga's winter station proved unusually stormy, 

 and day after day and night after night the offi- 

 cers had to walk in a heavy gale of wind to the 

 observatory, nearly a mile distant from the ship, 

 and with the thermometer ranging from 30 

 to 46 C. In calm weather a temperature of 

 from 40 to 50 was not felt so severely, 

 but even with a slight breeze a temperature of 

 35 and over became quite dangerous to those 

 who tried to walk against it, or incautiously 

 exposed parts of their faces, hands, or wrists. 

 Without giving warning by any violent pain, 

 frost-bites occurred, which, if not thawed in 

 time by rubbing the injured part with the 

 hands or with melted snow, soon become seri- 

 ous. Most of those who were wintering in 

 the Arctic regions for the first time were more 

 or less frost-bitten as soon as the cold set in ; 

 and in several cases large blisters, an inch in 

 diameter, made their appearance, but happily 

 no serious calamity occurred. Nor was there 

 a single accident of frost-bitten feet, owing to 

 the excellent foot-covering used by the expedi- 

 tion, which consisted of large canvas slippers 

 with soles of leather lined with a layer of pre- 

 pared sedge (Oarex vesicaria). Each foot was 

 incased in one or two pair of stockings and a 

 covering of felt. This arrangement was a 

 compromise between the foot-covering intro- 

 duced by Parry for Arctic traveling and the 

 boots filled with hay used by the Laplanders. 



All who used it were of the opinion that it 

 left nothing to be desired. On long journeys 

 in the wet snow this foot-covering is preferable 

 to leather, which becomes heavy and soaked, 

 and hardly dries in the open air during the 

 night, while canvas shoes filled with hay dry 

 readily. Even when wet they are light and 

 healthy on account of the air which circulates 

 through the hay. For protecting the hands, 

 gloves were used made of sealskin and cha- 

 mois, lined inside with sheepskin and with a 

 border of long-haired fur round the wrist. 

 They were generally suspended by a string 

 round the neck, as children are made to carry 

 their gloves. Besides these, for out-of-door 

 work, thin woolen gloves were always worn. 

 The rest of the costume consisted of the ordi- 

 nary Swedish winter clothing, perhaps a little 

 heavier and warmer than usual. Reindeer coats 

 and reindeer leggings were provided for every 

 man, besides a variety of furs; but they were 

 seldom used, even when the thermometer 

 stood at 45 0., the men preferring a loose 

 canvas suit worn over the ordinary sailor's 

 dress, which afforded a welcome protection 

 against snow and wind. The head was simi- 

 larly sheltered by a hood worn over the Hel- 

 singor cap, a supply of which had been pro- 

 cured from St. Petersburg. 



Observations on the weather were taken 

 until the 1st of November every fourth hour ; 

 from that date until the 1st of April, every 

 hour ; and afterward again, six times a day. 

 Between the 27th of November and the 1st 

 of April the instruments were placed on the 

 land at the magnetic observatory ; before and 

 after that time, on board the Vega or in the 

 immediate neighborhood of the ship. During 

 the winter the superintendence was intrusted 

 to Dr. Stuxberg, who, when everything around 

 was covered with ice, had to abandon his own 

 zoological researches. The meteorological ob- 

 servations made in the Vega's winter-quarters 

 form the first complete contribution to our 

 knowledge of the climatic conditions which 

 prevail in the peninsula that separates the 

 Frozen Sea of Siberia from the Pacific Ocean ; 

 and the information obtained regarding the 

 monsoon-like northwest w ( inds which steadily 

 blow in this part of the world during the win- 

 ter is of importance, not only as regards the 

 climatology of Siberia in general, but also in 

 connection with the study of the typhoons 

 and monsoons encountered on the coasts of 

 China and Japan. The greatest cold during 

 the several months was observed on the fol- 

 lowing days: October 24th, 20-8 C. ; No- 

 vember 30th, 27-2 ; December 23d, 37'1 ; 

 January 25th, 45'7 ; February 2d, 43'8 ; 

 March, 29th, 39.8. Twice th3 barometer rose 

 to an unusual height, viz. : December 22d, at 

 6 A. M., 30-78 in. ; February 17th, at 6 A. M., 

 31 '03 in. The lowest barometer up to April 

 1st was observed December 31st, at 2 A. M., 

 28'69 in. The weather during the winter was 

 in general very stormy, and the direction of 



